Russia’s first Moon mission in almost 50 years, the Luna-25 probe, crashed on the lunar surface on Saturday after an incident during pre-landing manoeuvres. Communication with the probe was lost at 2:57 p.m. Moscow time (11:57 GMT), the Russian space agency Roscosmos said.
The probe was scheduled to land near the southern pole of the moon. It was carrying scientific instruments to study the lunar surface and atmosphere. The cause of the crash is not yet known. Roscosmos said it is investigating the incident.
The Luna missions are part of Russia’s efforts to return to the Moon after a hiatus of almost 50 years. The Soviet Union was the first country to land a probe on the Moon, in 1959.
The space agency mentions that the lander “has ceased to exist following a collision with the Moon’s surface.”
“Measures taken on Aug. 19 and 20 to locate the craft and make contact with it were unsuccessful,” it adds.
The crash of the Luna-25 probe is a setback for Russia’s lunar program, but it is not the first time that a lunar mission has failed. The United States also experienced a number of failures in its early lunar missions.
Without providing any indication of what technical problems might have occurred, Roscosmos said a ministerial investigation would be launched into the causes of the crash. Moscow had hoped that Luna-25 would help to reestablish Russia as a leading space power by building on the legacy of its Soviet-era Luna program and marking a return to independent lunar exploration.
It is not yet clear what caused the crash of Luna-25, but it is possible that it was due to technical problems with the probe or with the launch vehicle. Roscosmos has not released any further information about the incident.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education